Virginia Congressman Proposes Federal Legislation Addressing Data Center Impacts
Representative Suhas Subramanyam expresses concerns about the rapid data center expansion in Loudoun County, Virginia, citing rising electricity bills, strained water resources, and national security risks. He has sponsored federal legislation, including H.R. 9372 to standardize electricity and water measurement and H.R. 8711 to develop a national data center defense strategy, to address these issues.
Virginia Congressional Representative Suhas Subramanyam (D-10th District) is championing federal legislation to address the rapid expansion of data centers, particularly in his Loudoun County constituency, which hosts the world's largest concentration of such facilities. Subramanyam, a former White House technology policy advisor, believes that while technology offers solutions, unchecked data center growth poses significant challenges for communities.
His concerns primarily revolve around three areas: increasing electricity costs, excessive water consumption, and national security vulnerabilities. He highlights that data centers' immense energy demands lead to higher utility bills for residents as wholesale grid operators activate more expensive power plants, often fossil-fuel based. He points to the Golden-Mars Transmission Line project in Sterling as an example of infrastructure controversies where residents and local officials sought less invasive solutions, but Dominion Energy and Virginia's State Corporation Commission favored above-ground lines due to cost.
To mitigate these issues, Subramanyam has sponsored the Data Infrastructure Energy Measurement and Standards Act (H.R. 9372), which would mandate the National Institute of Standards and Technology to create universal standards for measuring data center electricity and water usage. This aims to provide transparency and inform decision-making, especially critical in areas like Loudoun County facing drought conditions. Additionally, he introduced the Data Infrastructure Risk Reduction Act (H.R. 8711) to compel the federal government to devise a strategy for defending data centers from cyber and physical attacks, asserting that these facilities are critical infrastructure targets in modern warfare, as evidenced by past attacks like Iran's targeting of Amazon Web Services. Subramanyam argues that data centers should bear a fairer share of infrastructure costs and that above-ground power lines present unacceptable security risks.